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Miss Sophie: Fried rice is always a crowd pleaser, even in the deep South

Personalize fried rice by adding veggies, such as bok choy, Napa cabbage or mushrooms, or meat, such as ham, chicken or pork.

Kay Heritagethechurchcookblog.com

Kay Heritage/thechurchcookblog.com

A wok works best, but a big frying pan will do for tossing together your favorite ingredients for a quick and yummy batch of fried rice.

I have a vivid memory of the first time I had fried rice.

It was 1984. It was a few days after Christmas.

I was living in Claxton and my then father-in-law was going to treat us to a rare visit to Savannah for dinner.

He had heard about this new restaurant in the big city where they cooked your food at the table.

This was a real treat for a mother of three small children, and I was super excited.

I even remember what I wore: a matching grey polyester skirt, vest and blazer with a red polyester blouse.

I had gotten it for Christmas and it was about the first “suit” I had ever owned. I was very excited to wear it.

I don’t remember the name of the restaurant at that time — it changed hands many times — but it was the Japanese steak house on Mall Boulevard, across from the mall. We watched with wonder as the Japanese chef chopped, diced and tossed our food around at the tabletop grill.

My sons, who were 3 and 8 at the time, got so excited watching him — that was until he did the fire trick, at which they both recoiled.

We all had such a good time that night. The food was “exotic” and the presentation unlike anything we had ever seen.

I returned to the same restaurant many times as my children were growing up.

Long after it had lost its wow factor for me and my children, we took my niece, Hannah Bookhardt, there several times to celebrate our shared birthday.

I can still see her burying her head in my arm and giggling when they came out singing happy birthday to us in Japanese.

She was always asking when we were going back to that place “where the man cooked on our table.”

I’m sure many of you are thinking, “What was so great about a Japanese steak house?”

In 1984, there weren’t Asian food purveyors on every corner like there are today.

Fried rice, sautéed vegetables and soy sauce-laden meats were a novelty in the South — especially if you live in the rural South.

I may be wrong, but I don’t think you could buy fried rice in Claxton before the mid-’90s.

I got a wok shortly after our first visit to the Japanese steak house, but I never enjoyed my fried rice and vegetables as much as I enjoyed them when that “man cooked on our table.”

Fast-forward 28 years, no polyester suits and no wok, but a lot more cooking experience, and fried rice isn’t such a big deal anymore — especially with a little help from Kay (who said not to mention her name) and her delicious and quick fried rice recipe.

If you don’t have a wok, don’t fret; you can prepare this dish in a large, nonstick frying pan.

It is a good recipe to keep around for leftover rice or meats.

I wouldn’t advise trying to toss ingredients into your hat or setting a fire on the stove, but you could bang a few metal spatulas on the counter or table just to get you in the mood.

Teri Bell is co-owner of Miss Sophie’s Marketplace at the Mighty Eighth in Pooler. Go to sophiesmarketplace.com.

FRIED RICE

2 eggs, soft scrambled

4 tablespoons of vegetable oil or bacon fat

5 cups cooked rice, chilled

3 tablespoons soy sauce mixed with 3 tablespoons chicken broth

3 pieces of cooked bacon, finely chopped

½ cup frozen peas

½ cup carrots, diced small

½ cup green onions, finely diced

½ pound of cooked small shrimp (optional)

Optional veggies: ½ cup bok choy, Napa cabbage, sliced mushrooms

Optional meats: diced ham, chicken or pork

1. Cook eggs and set aside.

2. Heat wok or large, non-stick frying pan to smoking point. Add 2 tablespoons of oil or bacon fat and roll it around cooking surface to coat. Add rice and stir-fry until rice is hot throughout and free of clumps.

3. Add soy sauce and broth mixture, combining well. Add bacon and remove rice from wok or pan and set aside in a large bowl.

4. Add remaining oil/bacon fat to wok/pan and when oil is hot, add carrots first, frozen peas and then shrimp; cook until ingredients are hot. Add rice back into wok/pan and mix well.

5. Fold in scrambled eggs and diced green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.